


Red Yolk

by StXmade



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Bird Hybrid Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Blood, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Burns, Cages, Clay | Dream Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream-centric (Video Blogging RPF), Comfort, Comfort Tubbo, Crying, Drug Use, Gen, Going insane in the fucking cell, Hallucinations, Happy Toby Smith | Tubbo, Hearing Voices, Hurt Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Hurt Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), I suck at making stories I’m sorry, Light Angst, Mentioned Wilbur Soot, Mother Cara | CaptainPuffy, Parent Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Philza is father and always will be, Pig Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Sad, Sad Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Sad TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Sleep Deprivation, TommyInnit Angst (Video Blogging RPF), Vines, Vomit mentioned, Whump, dream needs therapy and so does tommy, medical Phil watson, thorns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 03:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29325708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StXmade/pseuds/StXmade
Summary: Two months exactly since Dream had been thrown into the nightmare of a prison. His mental health begins to get to him as hallucinations take over his mind.
Relationships: BadBoyHalo & Antfrost, Badboyhalo & The Egg, Cara | CaptainPuffy & FoolishG, Clay | Dream & Floris | Fundy, Clay | Dream & Hallucinations, Clay | Dream & Sam | Awesamdude, Clay | Dream & Sapnap & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Technoblade & Phil Watson (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo & TommyInnit, Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone, GeorgeNotFound & Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), No Romantic Relationship(s), Sam | Awesamdude & Toby Smith | Tubbo & Tommyinnit, Toby Smith | Tubbo & Everyone, TommyInnit & Egg Survivors, TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF) & Everyone, Tommyinnit & Sam | Awesamdude, Tommyinnit & Toby Smith | Tubbo
Comments: 14
Kudos: 623





	1. The beginning

**Author's Note:**

> o7

“He’s gonna die, Tommy! Tubbo’s gonna die!” Dream shouted playfully, his axe swaying as he paced himself towards the young brunette who turned around in sheer panic at his voice. Tommy shouting in the background, hoping to stop him in the process. 

Tubbo screeched, shuffling for any sort of weapon to defend himself just in case Tommy didn’t make it in time. He pulled out a netherite sword. Dream tilting his head in disbelief. Wondering if the teen truly believed that he could attack the admin that had full durability unlike him.

Tommy skidded between them, his hands reaching for the tip of his armor as he pulled it over his head. “Wait wait! Dream please! I’m begging you. Here! Here!” He cried out, throwing the armor on the ground. Tears slowly swelling up around his eyes.

Dream stepped backwards in confusion before smiling under his dusted porcelain mask that had the same dreadful smile like always. Making the air tense while the two stared at each other. Dream now shoving his crumbled up boot against the dirt, a hole, almost the size of a basket ball, appearing below it.

Tommy stared at Dream in his so called “eyes”. Knowing damn well what was going on. 

Good.

The boy understood his limit.

He understood the difference between a god and two teenagers.

That was good.

“Everything down.” Dream snapped, making sure it didn’t sound like a question. Tommy’s eyes slit but still complied, taking a step back before Tubbo marched over as well to drop his remaining items that hadn’t gotten blown up from the previous TNT burst.

Dream flipped open his lava bucket, prepared to place it down. 

  
He took a glance up, wanting to see their guilty yet humorous faces but only found not two but over thirty people staring down at him. Catching him off guard.

His breathing hitched to a stop, stepping back, accidentally bumping into the cold obsidian walls that sat around them. He could feel the coolness spiraling throughout his body, showing for sure he didn’t have his armor anymore and Tommy seeming to wear that such armor across the room from where he stood.

Fuck.

“You should’ve paid me more.” Punz broke the silence, the quiet yet inescapable words hitting Dream in the gut. 

He grunted, not prepared to verbally answer without an attitude.

Instead, Dream tilted his head to the nether portal to get a better view of his escape route. Wondering that if he was fast enough, he would make it through before pummeling to the ground by the thousands of arrows that were already aiming at him.

And just like that, Tommy seemed to have read the admin’s mind. His steps sounding the surprisingly large room while he paced over to the portal without hesitation. Placing the obsidian blocks around it to block the chance to escape. Tubbo doing the same for a double coat.

”Wait wait, no!” Dream shouted, taking a step forward towards the two.

Pain quickly washed over his body in an instant. Yep, no hesitation. He swerved his vision weakly, the movement creating black spots that slowly began to eat at his eyesight. He stumbled backwards, catching himself with the wall again. His free hand pressing against the wound that had been created under his chest. A little too close to the heart for comfort.

Finally having the courage to look down, Dream did. Seeing the crimson color he had usually liked seeing on other people now stretching across his hoodie.

He clenched his teeth, holding back the shout that forcefully wanted to escape his mouth. It was just an arrow. He could handle it. He didn’t need to act weak just because he didn’t have armor. If he did, then what leader would he be then?

Was he even a leader..?

Straightening back up and stopping his movement all together, he waited for the others to begin speaking.

He’s fine.

He could think of something, right?

He just needed some time.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━

Dream grimaced, knowing damn well he had to much time to think and yet he still lay in the middle of the cell with burnt marks from the attempts to escape through the hot dreadful liquid that lay in front. They didn’t sting as much as a third degree burn should luckily for his respawns but it still hurt like hell.

Nothing came to mind. Nothing to escape had even crossed it. It’s been months since he’s been thrown in yet he had no idea what the benefit was for being trapped. There had to be something. One thing at least. He knew he was smarter than everyone else and knew his luck was above god.

So there has to be something that could benefit for this.

But what was it? Being here was a living hell so what could possibly work?

Sam seemed to have abandoned him. The food disposal stopping weeks ago. He had finished writing in all his books and had started sketching on the covers. He’s attempted to look in the security camera and ask for more but it was no use. The red light didn’t seem to flicker anymore and it proved that no one sat on the other side. Giving him small hope in ever catching a guards attention.

Even the clock that usually kept him company had broken. It no longer worked properly and spun countlessly to the point he had gone insane just by the noise of the clicking. Throwing it in the lava soon after. Tears then swelling up in his eyes once he realized what he had done.

The weeks or months even in isolation had gotten to him. He had encountered hallucinations of friends from the past. Of George and Sapnap. Hell, even Tommy sometimes. It sounded insane to him at the thought of someone having hallucinations and here he was being the main victim he had insulted all those times.

“But I am real.” They’d always say. Always fucking repeating the words. Even if they were someone who he didn’t even care about.   


He knew this wasn’t well for his mental health but he didn’t seem to care anymore, seeing that no one cared either. Seeing that no one walked into his cell to visit him anymore. He asked Tommy if he could come visit him every so often but Tommy wasn’t up for it. He tried in the beginning but then stopped after only three visits. Catching Dream off guard as he started to ask the security camera where the teenager was and what happened.

But he was always ignored. 

It pissed him off.

Did they really not give a crap about his well being? To the point that food had stopped piling in.

Then again, he’d done that with Tommy during exile but that’s not the same, that’s-

“Do you blame yourself?”

A stern voice echoed across the walls, Dream flinching at the sound and quickly looking up to see. Grunting once he realized it was a little too fast. A familiar creeper like figure standing by his arm.

“What..?” He winced at the flaring pain that escaped. Trying his best not to break eye contact.

“Well,” Sam paused, a clipboard suddenly appearing in his hand as he read off of it. His body tilted, pushing himself away from Dream. Tapping the clipboard ever so slightly with his pen. “It’s quite common in this situation for the patient- prisoner, to feel a kind of guilt.”

“Y-yes of course I would. Why wouldn’t I-“ Dream stammered, flipping himself over to the point he laid on his knees. Looking as if he was begging to Sam. Begging for him to just keep quiet and do what a hallucination normally did.

“Every prisoner tends to feel that Guilt. Even if they truly were the bad guy.” Sam continued, “But do you find yourself as the bad guy?”

The blonde adult stared at Sam wide eyed with confusion. He looked down at the obsidian floor. Wondering how to answer. Did he?

Sam continued with his monologue nonetheless.

“Dream. Owner of Dream SMP and further destroyer of it.” Sam shoved the clipboard between his chest and his elbow. Crossing his arms in the process. “The one who purposely lended TNT to Wilbur and did some of their own damage once he died.”

“Stop it.”

“Forcefully exiling a fifteen year old boy out of L’manburg and giving him depression in the process.”

“Shut up.” 

“Going to the limit even, and taking everything that people loved and took it in your possession. To... as you said... control them.”

“I did it for their own good!” Dream cried out without thinking. His hands now shaking under his body while tears began to stroll down his cheeks.

“Why?” Sam spit out, “Was their a specific reason? Were you afraid of something?”

“Afraid?”

“Were you afraid of being left alone or were you truly the prick everyone found you as?” The hybrid exhaled, bending eye level with Dream. “What was the purpose?”

Dream shook his head, “I just..” He coughed, looking over his shoulder to meet with Sam’s eyes. Only to find himself alone again.

His body barely relaxed at the sight but still sighed in relief. Throwing his head forward onto the floor.

It was just a hallucination.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━

_ The sun shined above the very few tents that extended across the open area in the forest. The heat from the sun that stood above nearly burning down trees in the distance, only to be extinguished by the very few storms that passed by. _

_ Tommy stared down at said tents. Rising and dropping his fingers while closing an eye. Squishing the tent in his perspective before removing it and dragging to the next. Something that had reminded him of Wilbur and his love of bugs. Always going to the backyard, no matter his age, and forcing Tommy to join and squish ants with him. _

_ It was funny, seeing how much they had grown ever since that day. Wilbur turning from fourteen to twenty-four within a blink of an eye. And Tommy turning from six to sixteen. Maybe Philza had pictured memories for these events, it’d be nice to look ba- _

_ “Tommy!”  _

_ The blonde flinched at his name, swinging his head around quickly, feeling his mind drop and the scenery shifting_ _. Now the forest covered in fire and holes. Sam now standing right beside him. His Sam nook mask dangling from his neck and having been replaced by his usual creeper gas mask. _

_ “Tommy wake up!” _

_ Tommy rose an eyebrow in confusion, letting his mind drift. Wait that’s right, he was in a dream. So..._

_ He cussed under his breath, slamming his fist down on the grass that slowly turned into black goo. ‘Fucking prick.’ _

_ The Sam in the dream cocked an eyebrow and began speaking as if Tommy could hear. Something dreams and nightmares had in common with an unpaused movie. _

He woke up with a jolt, covering his face with his right palm. Whining at the sun light that came in the room like a fucking vampire. Maybe he was a vampire. Who knows.  


Tommy blinked to his left, seeing the creeper hybrid stand at the foot of the bed with crossed hands.

“What do you want.” He croaked.  
  


“We were supposed to meet up an hour ago!” Sam hissed, catching the blonde off guard. He pursed his lips, knowing he’d never get used to the mob sounds the male always seemed to make. He could deal with Techno and Fundy but Sam just... sent shivers down his spine.

“Yeah and?” Tommy hissed back in attempt to scare off Sam, pushing the covers over his head and muffling loud enough for Sam could hear. “Your boss needs beauty sleep.”

But of course he kept his eyes wide open under the blanket. Feeling as Sam made his way closer to the bed and grabbing something he couldn’t quite tell what it was from his point of view. He opened his mouth to ask, feeling as the blanket began to drag off of his hair until finally exposing him back to the light.

“Hey!” Tommy scrambled upward, “The fuck was that for?”

“Get up, you’ve had enough rest.” Sam shouted back, throwing the blanket on the ground before rubbing it on the dirt with his boot. Leaving the tent soon after.

Tommy rolled his eyes, looking down at the blanket before shuffling off of the bed.“Whatever.” He grumbled under his breath. Pulling his hoodie on. Not caring enough to change to his usual overalls.

  
  
His back hunched, showing how a bad bed could have an effect on you. He hated the tent he was assigned in but tried his best not to complain. Knowing if he did then the others would just kick him out. Forcing him back to L’manburg.

And that was the last place he’d want to be.

Tommy slipped his red converse on before running over to the entrance. Grabbing his netherite sword that hung where jackets were intended to be. He buckled it around his waist, making sure it was easy access before officially leaving the tent. Seeing Sam in the distance, talking to what looked like memory boy from afar.

Ranboo looked over, waving and smiling at Tommy who grunted in response. Something he had learned from Techno.

“You ready?” Sam asked.

“What’s the point of this meeting anyways?” Tommy frowned, feeling the movement of Ranboo shrugging beside him as they began walking.

“You’ll have to find out later. I don’t want to repeat myself once we meet up with everyone.”

“Everyone?”

“Exactly why I woke you up. We were waiting for you only to find out you weren’t even up.” Sam said absently, waving a hand as dismissal.

“You noticed!?” Tommy’s exhaustion escaping him. A wide smile being replaced on his face. “I’m like Georgenotfound aren’t I?” He winked, his hand shaping to a gun while he pushed it up against his chin.

Ranboo chuckled, Tommy only staring at Sam to see any shift in the mood. huffing quickly after realizing Sam wasn’t planning on laughing.

He dropped his hands back to his sides. “It was pretty funny.”

“It was.” Ranboo mumbled beside him.

They stopped in front of a tent. The texture and size slightly different than the others around them. Instead it held small lanterns that gave out teal lighting along with the dark stone that held the black sheets in place. 

  
Tommy opened his mouth to speak, quickly stopping once the tent entrance opened wide. Revealing everyone who either stood or sat inside.

At the far left sat a round table where Fundy and Tubbo sat across from each other, playing chess. Fundy waved his hands in complaint, pointing at the white chess pieces while Tubbo smiled with triumph.  Behind stood Quackity, watching them argue with one another. Playing with the zipper on his jacket. Sapnap watching from the side, zoning out at the movement. 

  
Techno and Philza stood on the other side of the room, speaking with Puffy who seemed too busy with Foolish to understand what they were saying. Foolish sat on the floor clinging onto a small totem or in other words, his son.

Sam walked in finally, clapping his hands to catch everyone’s attention. Their voices died down, turning to him and noticing Tommy in the background along with Ranboo. They all frowned, Tommy sticking a middle finger at them and pacing over to Tubbo who seemed to be the only one who was happy he had shown up.

“Hi Tommy, what took you so long?”

“Doesn’t matter, I’m here now.” He whispered back, pulling out a chair and sitting next to the brunette. Turning his attention back to Sam who happened to be speaking already. Not wasting a single second.

“Now that everyone’s here... we can start.” A couple nods came here and there, murmurs filling the room before he spoke again. 

“What is this? School?” Tommy grunted, Tubbo giggling in the background at the joke.

“The book of the dead.” He spoke up, pulling out said book. Showing the cover to the others. It held a cliche skull with spiraled eyes on the cover

“This is the book Dream mentioned on the day of being thrown into the Pandora vault.” Sam sighed, “Judging by the size of the book. Reviving someone can’t be the only thing.”

“So?” Sapnap voiced from the back of the room.

“So, there might be something in here that can end the egg. Not completely but can somehow change the others mindsets towards the egg or in other words revive their mindsets.”

“Pog.” Tommy grinned sitting up from the chair, expecting that to be the end of the meeting. All that work to wake Tommy up just for a simple comment.

Sam waved a hand, indicating he wasn’t done. Tubbo grabbing Tommy by the arm and dragging him back into the seat.

“The problem is, is that it’s not in our language. At least not for our eyes.” Sam shifted through the pages, flipping it over and showing it to the others. Ignoring the missing pages and the tearing after every few page. “I’ve spoken to Ranboo to see if it was an enderman language. Then I tried Techno. I’ve even spoken to Philza to see if it was somehow Hybrids that couldn’t understand it but none of them could tell what it said.

“Dream said that Schlatt gave it to him willingly. So there might be something that only lets the owner see it unless they pass it down to someone else.” The creeper hybrid shut the book, sounding the room around. The youngest of the group flinching at the sound. “Which is why we need to get Dream out of prison. At least for a small period of time.”

With the conclusion. Everyone grimaced at his name, staring at one another to see whether or not it was doable.

Tommy shifted his vision towards Tubbo who looked to be contemplating the idea. He bit his lip in annoyance, turning his attention back to Sam. 

“The fuck?” Tommy finally broke the silence. Sam rose an eyebrow at him, “We’re really going to put all our trust on him? After everything? He could manipulate us.”

“Exactly why-“ Sam began, quickly being cut off.

“Exactly why we shouldn’t take him out. He could just waltz away with the book and run off into the fucking horizon.” Tommy continued, pointing his finger towards the sun set even though the tent blocked his vision. He felt the cold air behind him take over, feeling how Tubbo had removed himself from the situation. Pacing off to Fundy’s side just in case if Tommy decided to throw hands.

“Which is why I was going to suggest giving him a tent that was guarded. He’s been in the cell for months now. He lacks any exercise to run off either way.”

“He could ask to go to the bathroom and the guards would probably be idiotic enough to allow him to go.” His hands dropped to the side with an exasperated shrug. He could see the gears turning in Sam’s head once he said that. Seeing that he understood that Tommy had a point.

“So it’s a no if you were wondering Sam.” Tommy frowned. Turning over to the entrance. Feeling the tension fill the room from doing so. 

He couldn’t see that well with his peripherals but could tell some of the others were confused as to why Sam was simply letting Tommy make the final decision.

“Tommy you have to give it a chance.” Sam’s voice cracked. Tommy stopped, his hand already clinging to the entrance curtain. Turning to see Sam who had found the voice crack a little shocking as well. “We’ve been trying to find a way for ages now. We need to try it.”

“No. He deserved to be locked up. He destroyed L’manburg and everything we loved! Why would you think he’d decide to help us now?” 

“You’re practically acting like him!” He finally snapped. Tommy swirled around in his place. Looking at Sam with furrowed eyebrows from shock. “You said he was going to throw you in the prison, didn’t he? You’re doing the same thing. You’re letting him rot in there without a care in the world!

“I know I suggested the idea, but it still feels wrong.” Sam frowned, turning away. His dark eyes staring down at the floor. The Sam nook mask blocking him from looking any further.

Tommy grimaced, turning and leaving the tent without a single word. He paced himself, not wanting anyone to catch up to him and convince him to say yes. Did they not understand the reasoning behind his answer? 

He shuttered as the wind breeze brushed against his face. Squinting his eyes and wiping away the prickling tears that began to fall. He cussed under his breath as he paced faster. The sight of someone's guilty face was the last thing he wanted. Especially if they were guilty because asinine like him was on the brink of tears.

‘This is.. This is my coming to an end. If you will.’

What the fuck?

Why did that cross his mind. 

That has nothing to do with what was happening.

He hiccuped, the words tracing along his memory. Becoming more vivid by the second.

The day they almost died from Dream. That green bastard of an admin.

And here Sam was, saying they should remove him from prison.

His feet skidded him to a stop. The large cliff that stood in front of him exposing the tents that lay below. The same description he had pictured in his mind when he was dreaming. Where Sam called him from behind, making a shit ton of noise while he tried his best to sleep soundly.

He wiped the remaining of his tears. Still hiccuping like the kid he was.

Tommy looked down at the tents. Small ants piling into a tent before escaping to the next. Looking as if they were rummaging for food.

The only problem was that it was his friends. Searching for him frantically. The sun was already beginning to set. Making them even more terrified considering the possible mobs that were nearby, despite the torches.

He frowned, huffing down onto the grass.

Dream was probably having the time of his life right now, unlike him. 

Not having to deal with the everyday arguments and the fear in everyone’s eyes as they tried to figure out how to end the egg once and for all. Maybe being stuck in a cell wasn’t bad after all.

He suddenly felt a spike of agitation. Rubbing his temples. Did he seriously just paraphrase to just give up?

“Fuck.” He mumbled.

He just needed to sleep. This was too much for his brain to handle.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━

Tubbo walked along the path, stopping every few seconds to look through the trees that blocked his vision. “Tommy! Tommy where are you!” He frowned wiping off the trickling sweat that traced down his neck. 

It’s been almost five hours since Tommy ran off. Worrying everyone.

At first it was only Tubbo who went to check on him. Only to find out he wasn’t in his tent. Causing the others to freak out.

“ _I didn’t...fuck.” Sam stepped back, his right hand pushing back the hair blocking his vision. Tubbo watched, looking down at Fundy. Not really knowing what to do._

_ Fundy’s ear twitched, feeling the breathing from the brunette and turning his attention to him. He gestured to the entrance and Tubbo understood right away but he still felt hesitant about it. _

_ Tommy could’ve just needed a breather.  _

_ “I’ll go speak to him.” Tubbo sighed. He paused midway, turning back to Sam eyes still scanned the air for any kind of feeling that wasn’t guilt. “Don’t worry. He’s fine. He acts like a baby all the time.” He smiled weakly, hoping to bring up the mood before walking out. _

_ Sam nodded softly, still feeling a little unsure. _

Tubbo shivered, the cold air pulling him out of his thoughts. Worrying even more if Tommy happened to be outside. He glanced behind him every once and a while, making sure he wouldn’t get too far away from the site. 

He wasn’t familiar with the area and getting lost wasn’t a good thing. Mostly because of the darkness that blocked his vision other than what the torch emitted in his hand.

He flinched, jumping away from the noise that came from his right. His hand snapping over to see what it had been.  Shit, a bear?  He thought to himself, getting brutally interrupted again by the sound.

Wait.

Snoring?

Tubbo paused, now straining his ears. “Tommy?” He whispered. His free hand reaching down to floor for a stick. Unfortunately only finding one only half his palm size. Even if it was as simple as a twig, he’d need to protect himself if it wasn’t Tommy.

The snoring gradually became louder as he got closer. Eventually stopping in his tracks at the sight of the blonde teenager sleeping on his back. His mouth wide open and filled with grass. “How the hell...” Tubbo squinted.

Small creatures ran into view. Holding grass in their hands and quickly shoving it into Tommy’s mouth again. The blonde snorting at the feeling. His hand waving slightly with a groan.

Tubbo chuckled, bending down and shooing the squirrels away from his friend. Plucking out as much grass as possible. He adjusted himself next to the sleeping blonde. Now sitting cross-legged in the floor and staring out into the field. A green figure still rummaging through tents for the search of Tommy.

Some had already given up, deciding to get some rest instead of spending the night searching for the trouble maker.

Sam was the last one who still ran around. His tired eyes exposed to the air. Even from this distance, Tubbo could still see the dark circles that began to form under his eyes. He smiled softly. Sam was like a father to Tommy ever since Philza and Tommy went their separate ways.

Philza still loves Tommy of course, but ever since L’manburg blew up, they weren’t really the type to communicate unless it was important.

“ _Sometimes I feel like he doesn’t love us anymore.” Tommy exclaimed, his voice soft but raspy. “It’s like he cares about his adopted kids more then his biological ones. He killed Wilbur for gods sakes.”_

_ Tubbo frowned, shaking his head. “Tommy, you know he didn’t want to do it. You saw the way he broke down once he did it. He didn’t speak for days after that.”  _

_ He sighed, nudging the blonde so they could make eye contact. “He loves you guys and he always will. He adopted me didn’t he? I’m the best thing that could ever happen to you!” He joked. Tommy laughed, nodding and rubbing his eyes. _

_ “Don’t get too self absorbed prick.” _

He wasn’t the type to express his feelings. Mostly because of Dream.

Tubbo didn’t know much but he’s listened to the stories here and there. How Dream had come to visit Tommy as a friend, only to betray him in the end. 

Tommy admitted he was nice to talk to, though. Even after everything.

But it always came with a price.

A gush of wind hit his arm. Tubbo feeling the small prickling goosebumps form from the cold. He loured, knowing a sweater would’ve been smart.

Tommy shifted, catching Tubbo’s attention. The brunette turned to see if he was awake, only to find him closing his mouth shut instinctively with the grass still in his mouth.

“Shit.” Tubbo turned over to Tommy to stop him in the act. Quickly being coughed on as the grass splattered all over his face.

Tommy jolted away, spitting the remaining grass that hadn’t fallen on Tubbo. His eyes opening in shock.

“Morning...” Tubbo muffled, using the tip of his shirt to clean his face. 

Tommy looked over, “Oh.” He grumbled, pushing himself upward to sitting position. His face flushing in embarrassment.

Tubbo smiled, “How was your sleep?”

“Like shit. It’s not everyday you pass out on the floor.”

The brunette laughed, scooting back over to the edge. “We were looking for you.”

“...I know.”

“Sam especially.” He pointed, the creeper hybrid coming into view after exiting another tent. Tommy frowned, shrugging. “You know..”

Tubbo bit his lip, trying to come up with words that wouldn’t entirely upset Tommy. “You know.. he has a point.”

“What? Me acting like Dream?”

“No. About this being a chance of ending the egg once and for all.” Tubbo choked a sigh, looking over to Tommy. “If we ignore this then we might be too late to use it in the future.”

“We’ll find another way, don’t we always?”

“It’s been months like he said, since we could even think of a single plan and now since we finally picked up on something we can’t just risk waiting.” 

Tommy sniffed, pausing to gather Tubbo’s words.

“You’re just repeating what he said.”

“Cause it’s true.”

The blonde rolled his eyes, glaring over to the main tent. 

Tubbo smiled, nudging Tommy slightly. “And  you know it’s true.”

Tommy sighed, waving Tubbo away. “Personal space bud.” He pushed himself up onto his two feet with his hands. Pacing off before stopping midway. “If you don’t hurry up I’m going to change my mind.”

Tubbo grinned, scrambling up and catching up to him. 

Just needed a bit of convincing from a childhood friend.

That was all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o7


	2. Uncaged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream is finally pulled out of prison, the ideal plan being to get him and leave but a turn of events come it’s way and stop them dead in their tracks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o7

Tommy and the others stood near the lava while they waited for it to settle down. They had expected the worse and they were fine if the worse had come. Only a few of them sincerely nervous on seeing Dream’s state and deciding to stay home. They spoke to one another before officially coming. Making sure that if Dream was found dead or in a horrifying state, they wouldn’t be there vomiting all over the scene.

Making others around them do the same.

Tommy was one of the main people who were reluctant to see him. He still had (he hates to say it) a neutral friendship with Dream and needed to make sure he was okay. 

On the other hand, about half of the other egg survivors decided to stay behind. Which were Puffy, Foolish, Quackity, and Ranboo. 

Foolish had insisted he’d be fine, but Puffy like the mom she was, forced him to stay behind due to him being on his last life. Ranboo on the other hand didn’t hesitate to say no. Making Tommy curious at the sudden answer but didn’t question it, not wanting to cause a scene.

And Quackity... he wanted to be the one in charge while they were gone. Saying it was ‘practice’ for the foreseeable future. Techno rolling his eyes at those exact words.

When it came to Fundy, it was a bit hard to understand whether he had said yes or no. But when he came, it was known that it was definitely a maybe.

So the few people who had come were Tommy, Tubbo, Sam, Sapnap, Fundy, Techno, and Philza. Making the trip a lot more easier considering there was only a few amount. Despite seeing this as an advantage, getting to the Pandora vault was a lot easier than what they expected. A little too easy to be exact.

“ _We need netherite armor just in case we step on the vines. We don’t want to get infected.” Philza explained, “We’ll keep an eye out for anyone while Sam unlocks everything for us. We can’t be seen though.”_

_ “Cant we just like- make invisible potions?” Tommy asked, Techno grunted in agreement. The pair turning to Philza in sync. _

_ “We won’t be able to make enough for everyone. Unless you want to narrow it down to only two people?” _

_ “No.” A chorus exclaimed, too curious to change their answer. _

_ Philza chuckled, nodding after. “Then Techno and I will stay outside and alert you guys if we see some egg bastard. That doesn’t mean to take your sweet time though.”  _

Now everyone stood there unharmed. Their durability to the max with all their items and armor. 

“This is a tad concerning...” Tubbo admitted, shuffling in place beside Tommy who had just thought the same thing. The vault looking way older than what it actually was.

Cracks spread around the walls and ceiling. Small drips of lava falling onto not red but normal prickling vines that lay on the floor. Some tightened around levers and buttons they had passed along the way.

_ “It might be in a bad state so make sure to watch out for holes.” _

Sam informed them a few hours back. 

But this was more than expected. 

Maybe it wasn’t so bad inside?

Tommy hoped, he sincerely did. Knowing that if it was  that  bad then Dream would’ve had to deal with it for god knows how long. At least he didn’t have to deal with this during exile. That was a good thing but...

“We shouldn’t all go in at the same time.” Sam spoke up, snapping Tommy out of his trance. Looking over at the hybrid with a cocked eyebrow.

Sam caught the confused look from across the room. “We might overwhelm him.”

“He’s Dream for gods sake. He’ll be fine.” 

“He’s been in isolation for a long time. We can’t risk the chance of a heart attack.”

Tommy rolled his eyes, “Sure, that’ll for sure happen”

“I’ll go.” Sapnap gleamed from behind them, making sure he had all his items. Sam shook his head and pointed to Tommy.

“The last time you guys spoke was when you three went your separate ways. Tommy will go.”

“What! Why me?” Tommy whined.

“Yeah! Why him?” Sapnap repeated, “We might’ve argued but he’s still a friend.”

“He might not think that.”

Sapnap stopped mid track. Stepping back and crossing his hands. He frowned but complied, knowing that could be true. Tommy smiled in triumph, regardless of the effects that came with it. “Tommy.” Sam waved for his attention, pointing down at where the Lava used to be. The remaining drops finally fading.

The blonde’s face dropped, “Why can’t you go?”

“If you get stuck on the other side I have to be here to fix the system.”

Tommy flipped a finger at him, turning to Tubbo who shook his head instinctively.

“Whatever.” He frowned, hopping down on the platform. Watching Sam pull down the lever with his remaining strength, the vines making it even more difficult than what it used to be.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━

Bad fiddled with one of the vines. Watching as it attempted to escape his grasp, only to slither back into it. He smiled down at it, shuffling his feet back onto the magma block. Ineffective due to his boots. A part of him wondered why people were backing down from the egg and the beautiful crimson vines that came with it. Why they wanted to destroy it from existence even after all the offers it had given them.

Why were they so picky?

_Haters_.

Bad laughed, “They are. But I’ll figure something out.” He pushed away the vines while he responded, shuffling through his inventory and pulling out a steak soon after. Nibbling it and continuing. “Me and Antfrost were planning on exploring the Pandora vault later. If we can’t kill them then we can trap em.”

_Enough_?

“Enough? Enough what? Cells?” Bad asked, “Im sure there’s a ton so there’ll be enough room. There’s like... twelve people? Well if you don’t count George then that’s... how is that muffin head doing anyways?”

_Tired_.

_ Gave up. _

“Hm.” Bad glanced up at the enclosed obsidian space. Hearing silence and only silence for the first time. Finally no shouting or crying for help.

He had gotten so used to it that he didn’t even realize the silence when it came. He found it suspicious but knew deep down it was simply just the side effects the egg had towards you before they officially joined the side. Bad wondered if that had happened to him but he couldn’t quite remember the process.

Was that concerning? He didn’t find it as concerning but it was still noted in his head for the future.

_ No. _

”Huh?”

_ You didn’t struggle, you didn’t cry.   
_

Bad mouthed an Oh before giggling, “So does that mean I’m the leader of the pack?”

_if you insist._

”Yeah!” Bad shouted with glee. Loving the small conversation he always seemed to have with the egg. It felt like as if they’ve been friends for centuries because of it.

The egg sounded like- Skeppy.

Bad bit his lip, wondering why he let himself think that. “I’ll open it later. We don’t want to risk him destroying you.” He quickly stated, not wanting his mind to wonder off to the thought again.

_Give him another week._

“Fine.” Bad sighed. A part of him curious to check now instead of days later.

Curiosity killed the cat anyways, so he could wait. 

As if on cue, Antfrost jumped into the room. Looking as if he had just run a marathon.   
  


he meowed softly and bowed his head so Bad could get the memo to give him a second to breath. The demon hybrid nodding in response as he stood up from his seat. 

“Someones here... well,  everyone’s here.” He finally grunted.

Bad rose an eyebrow and turned to the egg for an explanation to exactly who. Luckily for the vines they had eyes everywhere in L’manburg. The only problem was that they weren’t always looking at a specific spot to catch the threat in time. So in a sense, it wasn’t as useful. 

_ Techno and.. Philza. _

“Just those two?” Bad turned back to Antfrost who shook his head.

“There are more but I didn’t see who. They went into the Pandora vault before I got a chance to see.” 

“What, why?”

Antfrost paused.

“Is it for Dream?” Bad grimaced, tapping his chin with his clawed hands.

“The only thing I can think of, yeah.”

“What??” Bad wasn’t expecting the cat to agree but now the idea was out there and they needed to act fast before the group got their hands on the admin. He wasn’t sure how he was going to stop them but they needed to try. 

“Come on Antfrost. Let’s go.”

“What are we going to do?”

“We’ll think about it on the way. All I know is that once they take Dream it’ll be a lot harder for us than it has been already.”

“How about a hostage?”

Bad stopped at that comment.

A hostage could work.

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_ Tommy hiccuped, rubbing his eyes frantically as the tears began to drip down. His heels pressed against the sand below him, causing it to travel between his toes. Despite the converse. _

_ “Do they- they don’t care about me do they?” The blonde exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air before kicking the sand. Dropping a coconut drink that he had gotten ready at every seat.  _

_ Dream frowned, his hands resting in his hoodie pockets as he thought of words to say. He stuttered once he had them down, “I’m sure they’re just late, Tommy. I thought I was late but- but they might’ve been too busy to come this early.” _

_ “It’s been three fucking hours Dream!” Tommy snapped, “Not even one person showed up! You- you don’t even matter. You’re always here so you don’t even fucking-“ he choked on his words, crossing his arms and turning away. _

_ “Hey. I’m sure they wanted to come..” Dream softened, pacing over to Tommy’s side and wrapping him into an awkward side hug.  _

_ “If they did then they wouldn’t have made plans today.” _

_ “Then let’s just have fun without them! Come onnn Tommy. Don’t be a Debbie downer.” _

_ Tommy smiled, rubbing a tear that trickled down his cheek. “There’s nothing to do anyways. I only thought of four player games.” _

_ “I actually got a surprise for you. To fix just that.” Dream stepped back, fixing himself into Tommy’s vision before shifting his hand into his bag. Pulling out a large teal fork. _

_ “Holy-“ Tommy gasped, “A trident?! What the fuck?” _

_ The admin wheezed at his reaction. “Try it out!” He tossed it to Tommy who caught it without hesitation. _

_ The blonde looked down at the name tag, his lips sinking into his mouth in confusion. “...Dream rider?” _

_ “Ah.”  _

Dream stiffened at the sudden flashback. Seeing that the same thing was happening but.. well... reversed. 

His hands clung onto Tommy’s chest, his forehead buried into it. He could feel the hitched breathing from the teenager. Not knowing how to react to the sudden contact. He was embarrassed too, he couldn’t lie about that, but the warmth that came from the body made him relax. Stopping him from wanting to let go. 

“Dream?”

He didn’t care to respond and simply shook his head and the teenager. Indicating he needed a moment. Just wanting the feeling of an actual human touch for a little longer. The cold hallucinations never truly substituting the feeling and always feeling so bitter and lifeless when he attempted. 

“Tommy- where were you? I thought something- then Sam came and-“ His voice came out in a single breath. Making it hard to catch the words entirely.

“Sam? He’s been with me. What do you mean he came?”

Dream pursed his lips, not wanting to say it was hallucinations. He’d sound insane if he did. Then Tommy would leave again and he wasn’t ready for that yet. He just needed a friend by his side until he could handle the loneliness again. But he wasn’t sure if he _could_. The thought made him want to vomit and break into tears. 

  
  
Maybe if he told Tommy to stay then he would. No. That was selfish.   
  
  


_“Would you let me out if I was good again, Tommy?”_

He remembers himself saying, knowing that time hadn’t come just yet. The thoughts of stealing for his own and threatening still crossing his mind. He wasn’t even sure if it was considered threatening but he was too paranoid to ask.

  
“Oh.” Dream simply said, feeling Tommy’s arms finally wrap around his neck.

“You okay there big man?”

“It was lonely.”

Dream could hear the gears turning in Tommy’s head. Contemplating on what to say at the comment. That’s when it clicked in his head. Sudden realization at the fact that he was planning on doing the same with Tommy during exile.

Why had he been so stupid?

“I know. Isolation can be a dick.” Tommy finally said, Dream scoffing at the response. “But we’re here now Dream. We’re- We’re going to get you out.”

Dream nodded, “Two months.”

“I know.”

“You would’ve gone through the same if I wasn’t here. Shouldn’t I see how it feels and stay longer?”

“...no.”

“Why- why was that hesitant?” Dream rose his head, now staring at Tommy in the eyes. He searched for the reason without needing a verbal answer, quickly pushing away from Tommy with his heels. “I was right! I deserve to stay in here. So why are you getting me out?”

“Dream-“

“You don’t want to get me out. I can tell.”

Tommy scrambled to his feet, stretching his hands out in defense while he gradually made his way closer to Dream. Dream shook his head frantically, confused at the shift in mood.

“Dream we want to get you out. We realized your mental health-”

Realized his mental health?

So they knew he was suffering all this time?  But they didn’t care to at least attempt to visit?

“Then why didn’t you come earlier?” Dream snapped back.

Tommy frowned, turning to look behind him as if to ask for help. Dream followed his gaze. Catching someone wave in the distance before the platform retracted. Dream bit his lip, understanding right away that someone else was going to come. Once they stepped on the platform, their features were easily recognizable.

Sapnap.

Sapnap walked over to Tommy’s side, patting the teenager on the shoulder before whispering something. His eyes narrowed to Dream who glared back at them with shock.

“How you doing?” Sapnap finally spoke, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Like shit.”

He laughed, shrugging slightly. “Guess that’s one way to put it.”

“You look like you haven’t eaten in ages.” Sapnap frowned. Dream shrugging and turning away. The raven haired walked closer to Dream. Dream now on high alert and pushing himself back. Huffing once his body finally touched the wall behind him. He knew he wasn’t used to people and that he was simply overreacting. But it didn’t stop him from doing such action. Keeping himself at least a few inches from them.

“I’m not going to hurt you Dream. If we were then- well you wouldn’t be here right now.”

Dream winced at the comment. Nodding shortly after.

“Here. You need some water.” Sapnap pulled out a fully covered bottle from his inventory. Crouching down next to Dream, placing it into the admin’s hands.

Dream stared down at it, “I’m not thirsty.”

“You look dehydrated.”

“I’m fine.”

“Dream.” Sapnap sighed. 

Dream grimaced, taking a short sip. The cold water filling his dried up throat. 

  
His eyes widened in shock, taking a larger gulp from the first. Now realizing how little water he had been drinking for the past few weeks.

Sapnap laughed, “There you go buddy.” He whispered, patting Dream on the back.

Dream finished the water almost instantly, dropping it down back to the floor as he leaned into Sapnap’s touch. The heat filled his body, now making him curious as to why he was so scared to leave earlier. 

“Warm.” He muttered under his breath, flipping his palm onto Sapnap’s arm.

His eyes fluttered closed, snapping them back open almost immediately. Not wanted to fall asleep in front of the two. But his body became numb by the second. Unable to feel the feeling in his skin as he fell into Sapnap’s arms.

He should’ve known.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━

Tommy stared down at the admin that slowly went limp against Sapnap’s chest. His hands still surprisingly clinging onto said person’s arm.

“Did you-“ Tommy gawked, pointing at Dream. “Holy- you fucking drugged him!”

Sapnap laughed and shook his head, his free hand which wasn’t in Dream’s grasp stretching under his head. Pulling Dream up in bridal style. 

“It was a weakness potion, don’t worry.” He calmed the teenager down, walking onto the platform. “He was being a little more difficult than what we thought he’d be.”

Tommy stared down at the obsidian before glaring back at Sapnap. Humming responsively, running back to his side. Contemplating whether or not that was a good choice.  If Dream had caught on to what had happened, he’d be freaking out once he gained consciousness. But of course Tommy didn’t say anything, seeing Sapnap was supposedly ‘smarter’ than him. Yes, ‘supposedly’.

Tubbo popped his head into view with a nervous smile, “So how’d it go?” The piston’s deafened his last few words. It clicking the platform back into the obsidian floor. Sapnap and Tommy stepping off of it almost instantly.

“I’d say it went well.” Sapnap smiled.

The brunette nodded, staring down at Dream. He poked the freckles with curiousity as if he had never seen a face before in his entire lifespan. “He looks so innocent.” Sapnap pushed him away. Tubbo waving his hands in apology. 

Tubbo was right though. Dream actually looked surprisingly scared and exhausted after being in there for ages. The unrecognizable face behind his mask showing way more emotions than what he was used to.

Tubbo gasped, “Maybe he’d want his mask back once he wakes up! We can make one and customize it to his liking.” He looked away, counting how many ideas that came across in his head with his fingers. “We can add mini bees. Maybe some flowers too... Oo! We can make it cracked so it looks all fancy like those fanfics.”

“You sure that isn’t just how  you  want to make it?” Tommy rolled his eyes.

“Well it’s something!”

“Then I say we add a gun!”

“Now you’re going to far.”

“Hey.” Tommy frowned.

Sam watched from behind, holding in a laugh.

He glanced down at Dream who pushed closer into Sapnap’s grasp. Feeling how awkward Sapnap was at the motion.

“Didn’t think you’d have to go inside... but it looks like he still trusts you.” Sam nudged the raven hair on the side.

Sapnap looked up dumbfounded before registering what was said. He nudged back despite Dream being in his arms. “Told ya so.”

“How was he?” Fundy hopped in, tapping Sapnap from behind, who shrugged at the question. 

“A little hard to calm down but we managed.”

“Managed as in drugging him?” Fundy growled. Tommy turned his attention to the fox hybrid who pushed passed him, taking the lead to the exit.

Sam and Tommy exchanged looks before following behind.

Apparently Fundy still had somewhat feelings for the admin. Despite the admin running away from his wedding only to come back and ask for a favor. Tommy wasn’t interested in finding out why though. Knowing marriage was for the weak.

Being married to the grind wasn’t weak though.

Only normal... people... that-

He waved his hands in the air, trying to get rid of the thought. Knowing that excuse wasn’t even believable enough for himself. 

“So how are we going to tell Dream about the book?” Tubbo asked, staring over to Sam.

“As far as I know, we’ll be waiting a few days before giving him some work. At least that’s what Philza told me.”

“The old man? Why is he taking over?” Tommy grumbled.

“He’s the best when it comes to medical so I let him.”

“But he always takes things so slow.” Tommy groaned, stretching the last word out with a slur.

The creeper hybrid laughed, opening his mouth to answer.

“Guys?” Fundy quickly interrupted Sam, the four turning to see what he was calling them for. The fox hybrid twitched his ears, turning back with a concerned look. His paw stretched out and pointed to a figure that sat tied against an obsidian pole. The dark black wings covering most of the red vines that tied him against it. The thorns luckily only pricking above the tissue of the skin.

The man rose his head towards the group. Wincing at the movement. “Sam. Techno.”

Sam widened his eyes, pacing his vision to see where the threat had gone.

Philza dropped his head against the pole, watching as Tommy and Tubbo shouted in shock. Pacing to his side to help him up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really appreciate all the kudos <3
> 
> Next chapter will be next week, still climbing that motivation mountain 🏔 
> 
> What do you think happened to Philza and Techno? Comment if you have an idea!


	3. Resting beast

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events from the breakout, the group decides to take a breather while the old man recovers. If they want to save their friend, they’ll have to do everything in their power to be prepared.

Philza pummeled down to the grass. Shouting at the pain that swirled through his chest. He brought his hands to his throat as he gasped for air. Feeling the prickling cuts come to life and hitting the surface of the air around them. 

A part of him wondered what was taking the others so long. The fight feeling as if it had begun hours ago.

Techno fought the demon hybrid a few feet away. Philza knowing for sure he was paying attention to him and him only after hearing a threat like that. He knew Bad had said it specifically so Techno could attack without a plan but the pig hyrbid was still oblivious to it.

While they swung their swords against the other, Philza was in the background fighting Antfrost. Finding out the hard way that it was a lot more difficult than he thought. 

Apparently Antfrost was a sucker for TNT, throwing them down and lighting them every chance he got. 

Philza being there milliseconds before it exploded, as if Antfrost could see the future. 

“Just die already!” Antfrost growled in frustration. 

The old blonde laughed at the comment and shuffled back to his feet. Gripping onto the side of his sword again and running in, swinging down at Antfrost that barely got a chance to dodge. A graze of a cut forming on the cat’s arm.

“I can tell you’re exhausted.” Antfrost meowed with a chuckle, jumping on all fours past Philza and knocking him down to the ground again.

Philza grunted, pushing himself face forward as he kicked Antfrost. Knowing that he had a point. Philza felt like he was about to pass out any second now and more movement like this was guaranteed to make that happen. But he needed to get rid of Antfrost at least. If he left Techno with the two then he’d have no choice but to surrender. Considering the odds going down to 1v2. 

A compass would’ve been smart so they had a chance of messaging them. Then again, invisibility potions would’ve been smart as well.

They had attempted to go and alert them when Bad had showed up but Antfrost hopped in without warning. It was a good tactic, he had to be honest but it wasn’t really good if you were fighting against said tactic. 

The only option was to wait for the others.

But..

“ _Just give us Dream and we’ll leave you two be.” Bad explained, pointing at the entrance of the Pandora Vault._

If they came out in the middle of the fight then Dream would be in danger. There was a high chance that Bad and Antfrost had a trick up their sleeves. How did they even find out about Dream? The group had made sure to keep quiet about their plan.

“Phil!” A voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Philza glanced around in confusion to see Antfrost pinning him down on the floor by his neck. He gasped, chocking on his own breath as he struggled to escape the grasp. The claws tightened, crimson blood beginning to drip down to the grass.

Techno was the one that had shouted, still fighting Bad a few feet away. Knowing that he couldn’t be distracted by a single pin down but tried his best to speed up the pace to help Philza.

“Do you hear it?” Antfrost leaned closer, whispering into the old man’s ear. Philza’s hand reached up to push the cat away, only to be stopped my something holding him by the torso and arms. He knew it wasn’t Antfrost, so what was it.

He ignored the thought, using his head instead and bumping heads with Antfrost.

Antfrost hissed, complaining as he stumbled back. Gripping onto the bruise that began to form under their fur. 

“Let your guard down again and we’ll see what happens.” Philza laughed, trying his best to scramble to his feet. But it was no use. Whatever was holding him down seemed to tighten at the movement. As if it had a mind of its own.

Antfrost grinned, still rubbing his head with his free hand while the other grabbed his sword. “Look who’s talking.”

Philza looked down while he had a chance, catching a glimpse of... red vines.

“Shit.”

The vines pinned him down like iron handcuffs. Now stretching along his legs as well. Philza yelped, his only defenses were now gone. He’d just have to rely on Techno for help.

_ I can help. _

Philza flinched in place, pacing his vision around to see where the voice had come from. Barely registering the pig hybrid that threw himself against Antfrost and Bad at the same time.

_ I’m not here to hurt you. _

“What.” Philza whined under his pain, shooting a glare up to Antfrost. “What did you do?!” He shouted, the cat losing his balance as he snapped his attention to Philza with a grin.

_ Deep breaths. I’m not here to hurt you. _

Philza tried his best to ignore whatever was speaking to him but his mind swerved when he did, bringing him back to square one. His body reacted to the calming voice and slowly began shutting down. His eyelids drifting until he’d open them up again.

_ Get some rest Phil. I’ll make sure you won’t get hurt. _

“Why would I-“ Philza’s eyes weakened. 

How was this even happening.

“Philza!” He heard Techno’s voice say in the distance but his eyes were to weak to open. Whispers started deafening the other sounds around him. Unable to catch the few extra words Techno added into his sentence.

_ Relax. _

_ Don’t listen to that bastard. _

_ Just listen to us.  _

_ Take a breather for once. You’re always so busy. _

_ And we can change that. _

_ Make you whole again. _

_ So breath. _

_ We’ll make- _

Philza snapped his eyes open at the thousands of steps that came from his side. He twitched his wing to cover himself if it happened to be an enemy. Knowing they wouldn’t back down simply because he was tied.

But instead he was greeted by the group that he had come with. Fundy staring down at him in shock before turning his head to the others. The voice was muffled but Philza could understand he was telling the others about the old man. 

He squinted in annoyance, glancing over to his side for the pig hyrbid.

Wait.

Philza’s heart sped up almost instantly. His teeth practically biting down onto his tongue while his eyes searched for Techno.

The movement was giving him a work out, due to his exhaustion and maybe even a slight concussion. Cussing under his breath, he leaned on the back of the pole as he waited for the others to come and help him.

“Sam. Techno.” He winced through the pain, trying to make it audible for the creeper.

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Philza stared down at the sheets that were draped over half of his body. The plate of steak covering a part of it. He dozed off considering how bored he was... because well... he had been in the bed for the entire goddamn day.

It was nice that the others cared, he was glad they did but sometimes they overdid it. His injuries were already beginning to fade and the small voices had shortened their conversations. 

Purification was still a yes but he wasn’t worried if he decided to side with them. All he needed to do was get Techno out of that damn hellhole before he did. 

Ranboo and Tubbo were the only two that had visited and had sincerely asked for a plan once he recovered. Tommy being the only one who just said ‘Fuck it. We don’t need a plan.’ Philza laughed at the words, making his day.

But he needed to check on his other client. Or at least try to. Then again, there’s never people around the tent so it was possible.

Dream seemed more secluded than anyone else, and the only one he had seen care for Dream since they came back was Sapnap.

It was understandable, them being childhood friends and all but it worried him. 

Did the others care about Dream’s peace of mind? 

Philza was fine on his own, yet he had gotten more visitors that he could count. 

I could change that.

“Yeah, shut up before I turn you into a fucking omelet.” Philza snapped back, wincing at his own words. Tommy must’ve rubbed off on him.

He set down the fork and shoved the plate back onto the table. Huffing back down onto the bed.

“Ok. So, Techno... Techno.” Philza mumbled to himself, sketching the plan absently with the wrinkles that formed on the bed sheets.

_ “If you so much as attack us, we’ll have no choice but to take one of you hostage instead!”  _

The threat... Bad had said something along those lines. Philza’s memory was a bit hazy but they had. If Philza had directed them to Dream’s cell then Techno would still be here. They wouldn’t have taken the pig hybrid hostage if he weren’t so selfish.

_ Feeling bad about yourself I see. _

Philza ignored the voice, using his index finger to continue the planning. The wrinkles were unreadable but not to his eyes.

The closest possibility was that they had put Techno  in  the egg. So it’d be a lot difficult for a rescue mission to commence. They did have a hole that dropped down directly to the center of the egg. But an escape route would be needed....

_ You seem so calm. _

Philza shook his head, knowing it was trying to distract him. Panicking wasn’t an option. He needed to figure something out before actually taking action, unless he wanted to end up in the same state again.

Guess plans really were effective.

“Philza?”

The blonde looked up from the blanket, seeing Ranboo shuffle in place near the foot of the bed. Holding a newly covered book with him. A red ribbon falling against the back.

“Hey Ranboo, you checked on Dream like I asked?” Philza smiled, patting near the edge of the bed for Ranboo to sit. Which he did reluctantly.

The half and half shook his head, “No, Sapnap told me he’d handle it.”

Of course, it was exactly like Philza had thought. But he didn’t know why. Was it because of all the crimes Dream had done in the past? Did everyone just want him so they could end the egg once and for all?

It upset him, he had to be honest.

Dream was still young despite being an adult and those months in isolation meant he needed more physical interaction to be his old self again.

Well...not that cold manipulative self but at least have the confidence to speak and touch whenever he felt like it.

_ If you don’t like it so much, I could help. _

_ Kill those who have wronged you and I’ll handle the rest. _

“I’m going to-“ Philza stopped midsentence, feeling a clawed hand touch his hand in concern.

“We’re going to get Techno don’t worry.” Ranboo assured him, pursing his lips before examining the book in his hands. “The.. others told us what happened but I was wondering if you could for- you know.”

Philza stared down at it dumbfounded before letting a smile escape back to his lips, “Only if you get me some coffee.”

Ranboo chuckled, “Sure thing, Phil.”

Philza held onto the book, grabbing the pen while he watched Ranboo run out for the coffee. He’d have to keep the voices a secret for now, at least until it comes to a point where it starts giving him orders. 

He knew he wouldn’t be able to handle it on his own, but after all these events... he’d let them rest until hit got out of hand.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━

Puffy flipped to the next page, ignoring the spots of ink that began to trace lines along her fur. She bit the inside of her cheek, grumbling to herself.

“This is absolutely impossible!” She cried out, shoving the book of the dead closed and throwing it back onto the wooden table which rocked at the interaction.

Foolish glanced over his shoulder, his spikey teeth practically exposing his laugh he tried his best to keep in. 

“Didn’t Sam already mention that only Dream could read it?”

“I know.” Puffy grumbled, “But it was worth a shot. It’s like it’s English but someone wrote it with terrible handwriting!”

“Maybe we can all read it and we’re just overlooking it.” Foolish shrugged, returning to his cookies. He poked at it with his golden finger, snatching it and shoving it into his mouth. 

“Great minds think alike.” Puffy admitted, reaching over to the book and opening it again. The frustration already leaving her mind.

She rested her head onto her left hand, using her right to flip the pages again. This time she attempted to read every word, only catching the dates that was written on the bottom of every page.

‘December 19, 1987’

“Man, this is old. How is it even in good shape?”

Foolish perked up, dropping his next cookie and pacing over to her side. He towered over the female. Puffy already used to the height much to her annoyance. He stretched his arm out and flipped the page.

Puffy rose an eyebrow, looking up at the totem hybrid. “The hell are you doing?”

“Look.” Foolish pointed.

“..Crap.”

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━

Tubbo shook the pen hastily, banging it upside down on the wooden table to receive more ink before removing the cap and tracing the sketch. Once he finished, he looked up at Tommy who sat a couple inches away.

“So are you going to help me or not?” Tubbo huffed, waving his hand in dismissal.

Tommy glanced up in shock, letting his body turn with him. “How the fuck am I supposed to work on it if you’re in the way?!”

“Maybe pass me what I need?”

The blonde rolled his eyes, straightening from the chair and heading for the cabinet filled with art supplies. Tubbo smiled and looked back down to the project, letting his mind shift the art around to see which design seemed better.

Tommy returned with a pack of crayons and color pencils, shuffling back into his seat and continuing on his own work.

Tubbo dumped his paint brush into the water, pulling it out and grabbing a splash of yellow. Dragging it to the corner of the rounded mask and coloring it into a bee shape. 

They’ve been hard at work for the past hour and they were nearly finished. Until Tommy decided to create his own drawing without an outline on the mask. (A bee with a nerf gun) Not even coloring in the lines for gods sake. Tubbo had almost freaked, wanting it to be perfect for Dream, but once he added his own decorations, the mess up didn’t seem as bad.

Tubbo wondered how Dream would react to the present. Shocked? Relieved?

Dream did have a... strange past with them so it’d definitely be unusual.

“Done!” Tubbo exclaimed, placing the paintbrush down as he stood from his seat. Pushing away the paint to get a better view of the mask. Tommy rushed to his side and grumbled at how colorful it was, making Tubbo’s eyes roll.

“Maybe add some stars?” Tommy pointed at the blank spots. Grabbing the star stickers he had been working on and handing it to Tubbo.

Tubbo looked down at it, a bit upset at how well... unprofessional it looked but didn’t say anything about it. He peeled off a star, sticking some down slowly to make sure they looked good in the specific spot. 

“How about here?” Tubbo asked, holding a much larger star with his index and thumb.

“No, here.” Tommy pointed at the other end.

“Then the middle. Win win.”

“What? No! Here, I’ll do it.” Tommy dramatically made a vomiting sound, turning over to Tubbo and stretching his arm out for the sticker. Tubbo used his free hand to push Tommy away by the face. “Let me do it!”

“No! You’ll mess it up!”

“I’m not!”

“Yes. You. Will!”

They stilled at the sound of a soft cough by the doorway. Tubbo finally getting the chance to escape Tommy’s grip and stumbling backwards, glancing over to find Sapnap smirking while leaning against the doorway.

“You two look busy.” Sapnap laughed, “What’re you working on?”

Tubbo huffed, picking up the porcelain mask away from Tommy before walking over to Sapnap. “We’re working on a mask for Dream. You think he’d like it?”

“Highly doubt so. I didn’t even get to add the cool shit.” Tommy mumbled from behind.

“Yeah cause you can’t even make it proper.” Tubbo rolled his eyes, pointing at the blobbed up bee.

“You guys did this yourself?” Sapnap rose an eyebrow, taking it from Tubbo’s grasp.

“Yep!” Tubbo smiled with triumph, “If it wasn’t for Tommy, we wouldn’t have taken so long. Hopefully we’re not late.”

“He’s still sleeping actually.”

“Wait what?” Tommy hopped in, finally turning his attention back to the two. Ignoring the stickers that spread across his hands.

“Yeah...” Sapnap smiled nervously, handing back the mask. “I thought it was a few hours but guess not.”

“Did Phil do a check up yet?” Tubbo asked, grabbing the mask out of Sapnap’s hands and placing it back on the table to dry. 

“His wounds are still closing, so we’re waiting until Sam gives the word.”

“How’d Phil feel about that?”

Sapnap shrugged as an answer, Tubbo and Tommy grumbling. Knowing damn well that he must’ve had a reaction to all the help he was getting just by a few minor injuries. Don’t get them wrong, staying in the bed was a good idea but Philza had dealt with so many injuries before that this wasn’t even a scratch to him.

“I came to ask a favor actually.”

“Shit.” Tommy groaned, Tubbo nudging him on the side.

“What can we do for you?” Tubbo smiled.

“I’m a little worried about leaving Dream’s side ever since I saw him.” Sapnap pointed out. The blonde nodded, remembering how freaked out Dream was when they said they would take him out. “So I was wondering if you guys could, while I go out hunting for everyone.”

Tubbo opened a mouth to complain, closing it quickly. That had been Philza and Techno’s job so of course someone needed to do it while they were injured. Sapnap was the third most skilled hunter in the group so it made sense... well fourth now. Was Dream good at it?

“I don’t see why not.” Tubbo finally answered. Tommy whipped his head towards the brunette, his eyes widened in shock and a hint of annoyance. 

“Great! Tommy?” Sapnap smiled awkwardly.

“That is- an extremely irritating question.” Tommy grumbled, turning his gaze back to Sapnap.

“Don’t be a baby, Tommy. I’m the one who almost died because of him and I’m allowing it.” Tubbo rolled his eyes.

“Prick.”

“The job won’t be that hard, really.” Sapnap said abruptly, adding the last word to assure Tommy. “Just alert me if he ever wakes up in a panic and I’ll drop everything and come.”

“Whatever.” Tommy huffed.

“Great!” Sapnap smiled, taking that as a yes. “Do you have a compass?”

“Er-“ Tubbo blinked over to Tommy who shrugged cluelessly as well. “No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> o/


	4. Techno’s POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno wakes up somewhere unknown, surprised about who he finds in there with him. The person is unresponsive but he’s sure they’re fine.

_ “What did you do to him?!” Techno shouted, his heel pushed against Bad’s chest who coughed at the contact. He paced over to the now laying demon hybrid. “Answer or I swear to god!” _

_ Bad waved his hands frantically but his smirk still stained onto his face. His head tilted to Antfrost who stood a few feet away, prepared to fight Techno on signal. “We didn’t do anything. But it’ll get worse if you keep sitting around.” _

_ “We said if you attacked, we’d take one of you as a hostage instead didn’t we?” Antfrost hopped in, his tail flicking behind him softly. “So think about it.” _

_ “Elaborate.” Techno finally grunted after a long pause. They had been fighting for over an hour and he knew he wouldn’t be able to attack them both on his own, any deals would work for the time being. Philza and him were both strong beings after all. One of the main in the server at least.  _

_ “I thought you were smart, Techno.” Bad laughed, avoiding the cough that pushed against his throat. “It’s self explanatory.”  _

~~_ Don’t trust them.  _ ~~

~~_ Don’t do it Techno!  _ ~~

~~_ Kill them! Blood for the blood god!  _ ~~

~~_ Hummina Hummina.  _ ~~

~~ Technoblade never dies, kill them both! ~~

_ Techno ignored the voices, glancing over his shoulder to Philza who was out cold, laying down on the ground with his bucket hat on the floor only a few centimeters away. _

_ “I’ll go.” _

_ “Is that so?” Bad glanced over to Antfrost who nodded along with a smile. “Very well.” _

Techno rubbed his temples, his eyes finally fluttering open for god knows how long. His eyes stung from the smell of the egg. His pants now covered with what felt like yolk. 

He scoffed despite his position. Ironic.

He lifted his cloak with his hands in attempt to keep it dry. The inside of the egg was surprisingly cold so he’d need something to keep himself warm while he was there.

Taking in his surroundings, he spotted multiple vines from across the egg. The egg wasn’t different as it was on the outside, except now the walls lay smooth.

He grunted, pushing himself onto the wall before turning and banging on it harshly. It was firm, unlike any other egg he’s made breakfast with before. 

The group was probably back home long gone from L’manburg so he knew that now would be the time to act. So the others wouldn’t get injured while he escaped.

He turned back around, catching a glimpse of blue fabric a few feet away. Luckily for his eyes adjusting to the dark, he recognized the figure almost immediately. 

“George?” He croaked, wincing at how sore his throat was. Techno rubbed his neck with his left hand, using the other to push himself closer to the brunette. He hadn’t known George was here, if he did then he would’ve actually thought of a plan. Even if plans always happened to come with a turn.

He heard from Sapnap that George had gone on his own to live in the middle of no where, saying that he didn’t want to deal with wars and fights again. 

Everyone had believed that and maybe even Sapnap did too. But apparently Bad and Antfrost didn’t get the memo.

“George? You with me? Hey.” The pig hyrbid slapped the side of George’s face, receiving a low cough.

George whined, his head tilting to the side instinctively. Techno took that as a sign that he was definitely alive and quickly glanced around George for any injuries. Luckily there wasn’t anything major, other than the few scratches from the thorns.

He tugged at the vines hastily, barely even making any progress from the looks of it. He’d have to get a weapon to pull them open but they had disarmed him before he had woken up. 

What was the point of putting him to sleep anyways... it’s not like he didn’t come willingly.

Techno shook the thought out of his head, focusing on the task. His hands made its way back to the egg’s walls in search for any cracks before lifting his foot and shoving the heel of his shoe into the wall. His heel snapped, leaving him flabbergasted. 

He looked down at his shoe, seeing the difference between his right and his left. Apparently he had to walk with a limp now.

Techno brushed the brim of his nose, a migraine already forming into his head from all the effort. His free hand continued to scan the walls while he let the voices sound in his head again for any hints or clues.

~~ Ughhh Boring.  ~~

~~ Maybe try the roof? ~~

~~ WEAR A SUIT. YOU’RE FINNA DIE!! ~~

_ You should stay. _

~~ Hmmmm. Me no gusta. ~~

Techno halted to a stop, recognizing one of the voices almost immediately. He had remembered it when Bad had attempted to add him to the eggpire. The voice was barely audible then but now it was actually clear. He wasn’t sure if that was concerning or not.

_ Oh, so I finally got through? _

“So you’re the egg?” Techno grunted, almost shocked at how fluffy it sounded. A voice a toy teddy bear would have if it had a voice box. 

_ The one and only. _

He smiled, shrugging despite being out of range from the eggs vision. Or so he thought. “Sorry, I got a huge crowd and you were in the back of the line.” He tapped his head sarcastically.

_ Understandable. _

_ I too have the same problem. _

“Is that so?” Techno hummed, looking over to George with a raised eyebrow before running his fingers through his hair. He turned back over and headed to where he had woken up to begin with. He knew his weight so a crack could’ve formed under him.

He placed his left hand against the smooth wall while he prepared the right to shove into the yolk. Once he did, an acid like feeling shot through his arm instantly.

He hissed while he pulled it away.

_ I wouldn’t do that if i were you. _

“So if I were, let’s say, someone who wants to escape. How would I?” Techno continued, ignoring the comment. His dry hand reached for his cloak, wrapping it around the other.

_ Very funny. _

_ I’m starting to like you. _

“So you didn’t before?”

_ You could say that. _

Techno hummed responsively, shoving his hand back in and pressing his fingers onto the ground. He felt a large lump but couldn’t figure whether it was a vine or a crack. He frowned, pulling his hand back out. Receiving no progress at all.

_ Philza’s a real pain though. _

His breath hitched. He had completely forgotten about the old man, thinking he was safe from the egg along with the others. But that sentence said otherwise.

Techno looked over his shoulder as if the egg was standing there like a normal human being. “What do you mean?”

_ You don’t know? Philza hears me too. _

_ He’s trying not to but it really isn’t helping his situation. _

“Well he isn’t an idiot. I’ll give you that.” Techno chuckled, “Try getting through to him, I dare you.”

_ You don’t have to dare me. _

_ I already am. _

_ I can’t really tell if he’s breaking or not though.. _

Techno grunted, catching on to the egg’s facade. It’s voice almost sounded sincere but he knew that he shouldn’t trust it. Sometimes the sentences were filled with malice while others had a hint of concern.

He had to be honest though, knowing that a breakfast dish could speak... made him feel disgusted.

_ Well I’m off.  _

“What?” Techno gagged, stumbling to his feet. But no response came. He cussed under his breath, glaring down at the now soaked cloak with a sigh.

Questions would’ve been a smart idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short 1,000 words chapter! For those of you who are wondering what’s happening on Techno’s side.

**Author's Note:**

> o/


End file.
